Door hinge mechanism



July 8, 1958 o. BERGE ETAL DOOR HINGE MECHANISM Filed July 21, 1955 m MW/ 0. S. mm .1 mm A mm B United States Patent DOOR HINGE MECHANISM Olav Berge, Toronto, Ontario, and David G. Smith, Weston, Ontario, Canada, assignors to Moli'ats Limited, Weston, Ontario, Canada, a corporation Application July 21, 1955, Serial No. 523,475

4 Claims. (Cl. 126-194) This invention relates to hinge mechanisms and, in particular, to a hinge mechanism which is adapted to releasably engage a hinged member.

The factory assembly of hinged members using conventional hinges has been a common source of difficulty in the past. Broadly speaking, there are two alternatives which may be employed during assembly; the hinge may be separated at the pivot pin and each portion of the hinge secured to the appropriate member and the hinge and hinged member then mounted by means of inserting the hinge pin in the mating parts of the hinge. Alternatively, the complete hinge may be secured to one member and the second member then positioned and the hinge then secured thereto.

Both of these methods have disadvantages and present difficulties when the hinged member is relatively heavy and in particular when concealed hinges are to be used.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hinge of the concealed type which will enable the hinged member to be quickly, simply and removably mounted on the hinge.

According to the invention, the hinge mechanism comprises a fixed plate, a movable plate pivotally secured thereto, the movable plate having two notches cut therein, a hinged member having means mounted thereon adapted to releasably engage the notches on the movable plate.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated as applied to the oven door of a stove in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts in the various views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a stove having an oven door mounted thereon with a hinge made in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the hinge and the mounting mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to- Fig. 2 with the hinged member in a slightly different position relative to the hinge, and

Fig. 4 is a cut-away perspective view of a portion of the door showing the latching mechanism mounted therein.

While in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be described as applied to an oven door of a stove, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this application and that modifications in the invention may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to Fig. l, a hinge made in accordance with this invention is shown as supporting an oven door 11 on a stove 12. The hinge 10 is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and comprises a fixed plate 13 and a movable plate 14. The fixed plate 13 is secured to the frame of the stove 12 by any suitable means such as spot welding at 15. This fixed plate 13 has a curved arm 16 which extends forwardly of the frame through a slot 16a in the covering 38 point 17.

of the stove and which terminates in a pivot 17. The movable plate 14 is pivotally secured to the fixed plate 13 at pivot 17 and is provided with an arm 18 which carries means for securing the door thereto. The movable plate 14 is provided with a stop pin 19 which, in conjunction with a lug 20 provided on the fixed plate 13, limits the counter-clockwise rotation of the movable plate 14. A stop 21 is provided at the opposite end of the arcuate path of the pin 19 to limit the clockwise rotation of the movable plate 14.

Referring now to Fig. 4 the mechanism within the door or hinged member will be described.

Mounted between the innerpanel 22 and the outer panel 23 of the door is a Ushaped channel member 24 having legs 25 and 25a. In the particular embodiment illustrated the channel member 24 is mounted by means of flanges 26 and26a which are spot welded to the interior surface of the inner panel 22. The channel member 24 defines a space 27 between its legs which is accessible by means of a slot 28 provided in the inner panel 22.

A still, resilient spring 29 of U-shape is mounted with both legs extending through the space 27 between the legs 25 and 25a, and one leg 30 of the U is rigidly fixed whilst the other leg 31 is capable of movement towards and away from the fixed leg 30. The fixed leg 30 passes through aligned holes in the legs of the channel member 24 and is secured by means of a collar 32 which is welded both to the spring and to the channel member 24. The other leg 31 passes through a pair of aligned slots 33 so as to enable it to move towards and away from the fixed leg 30.

Referring again to Figs. 2 and 3 the arm 18 of the movable plate 14 of the hinge is seen to be provided with a notch 34 at the free end thereof and with a second notch 35 at the opposite: end of the arm 18. As can be seen in Figs. 2 and 3 the notch 34 is adapted to engage the stationary or fixed leg 30 of the spring 29 while the notch 35 is adapted to receive the movable leg 31 of the spring. The leg 18 of the movable plate 14 is provided with a cam surface 36 which leads to the notch 35. When the hinge and spring are in the relative position shown in Fig. 2 the door 11 is securely engaged by the hinge and freely pivots about pivot If, however, it is desired to remove the door from the hinge mechanism it is merely necessary to insert a pin in hole 37 in the movable plate 14 which is provided for the purpose, thereby jamming the movable member against the covering 38 through which the fixed member 13 extends. By forcing the door in a clockwise direction the movable leg 31 of the spring 29 will be forced to spring out of the notch 35 and assume the position shown in Fig. 3. The door may then merely be lifted away from the hinge plate.

When the door is removed and it is desired to re-engage it with the hinge, the movable plate 14 is rotated about the pivot 17 to the limit of its counter-clockwise movement, the notch 34 is engaged with the fixed leg 30 of the spring and the door is rotated in a counter-clockwise direcnon. counted the cam face 36 which leads to the notch 35 and the counter-clockwise movement of the door will result in the movable leg 31 of the spring being seated in the notch 35.

In the description and in the drawings, only one hinge has been described but it will be appreciated immediately that in an application such as to the oven door of a stove as described, two hinges will be required, the second hinge being of identical structure and being engaged by a similar spring member ne arthe opposite edge of the door.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A hinge mechanism comprising a fixed plate, a mov- The movable leg 31 of the spring will then err-- able plate parallel to the fixed plate and pivotally secured thereto, the rotation of the movable plate being in its own plane, the movable plate having two substantially oppositely directed notches vcut therein, and a hinged member having a U-shaped spring rod mounted thereon adapted to releasably engage the notches on the movable plate.

2. A hinge mechanism comprising a fixed plate and a movable plate pivotally secured thereto to rotate in its own plane, an arm extending from the movable plate having a notch at its free end and an oppositely directed notch near its base, a hinged member adapted to be supported by the movable plate, the hinged member having a U- shaped spring mounted thereon, one leg of the spring being fixed, the other leg being free to move towards and away from the fixed leg, the two legs of the spring being adapted to releasably engage the two notches on the movable plate.

3. A hinge mechanism comprising a fixed plate and a movable plate pivotally secured thereto to rotate in its own plane, an arm extending from the movable plate having a notch at its free end and an oppositely directed notch near its base, a hinged member adapted to be supported by the movable plate, said hinged member having a U-shaped spring mounted thereon lying in a plane at right angles to the plane of the movable plate, one leg of the spring being fixed, the other leg being free to move towards and away from thezfixed leg, the two legs of the spring being adapted to releasably engage the two notches on the movable plate.

4. A hinge mechanism comprising a fixed plate and a movable plate pivotally secured thereto to rotate in its own plane, an arm extending from the movable plate having a notch at its free end and an oppositely directed notch near its base, a cam surface formed in the movable plate leading to the lst mentioned notch, a hinged member adapted to be supported by the movable plate, said hinged member having a U-shaped spring mounted thereon lying in a plane at right angles to the plane of the movable plate, one leg of the spring being fixed, the other leg being free to move towards and away from the fixed leg, the two legs of the spring being adapted to be releasably engaged by the two notches on the movable plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 55,987 Beers July '3, 1866 1,257,572 Appleby Feb. 26, 1918 2,541,942 Sherman Feb. 13, 1951 

